camerapediafandomcom-20200215-history
Auto Keef
February 1946. }} The Auto Keef (オートキーフ) is a Japanese coupled-rangefinder camera taking 4×4cm pictures on 127 film. It was made from late 1940 or early 1941 by Kokusaku Seikō and was advertised until 1945 and again in 1946–7. See also the Semi Keef. General description The Auto Keef has a rigid body and a telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. This telescopic tube is mounted on a focusing helical, coupled to the rangefinder by a pinion. The range- and viewfinder is combined in a single eyepiece and is contained under a top housing. The square viewfinder window is in the middle. The camera has auto-stop film advance, a necessary feature because the paper backing of 127 film is not marked for 4×4cm exposures. Early documents and prototype model The official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941, already has a "Keef I" (¥77) and "Keef II" (¥125). , type 1, sections 7 and 10. They are listed among 3×4 and 4×4 cameras but no further detail is given; they might correspond to the Auto Keef but it is unconfirmed. The Auto Keef was advertised from June 1941 in . , p.335. The September advertisement says that the camera would be "available soon" (近日発売) and has a picture of what is certainly a prototype model. Advertisement published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in , p.65. The advance knob is on the right and the round rangefinder window is on the left (as seen by the photographer holding the camera). It seems that the name KEEF is engraved above the rangefinder. There is no accessory shoe and the position of the exposure counter is unclear. The rangefinder coupling pinion is on the right (same convention) and it is apparent and not hidden under a housing. The release button is placed atop a large housing protruding on the right (same convention) of the shutter casing. The lens offered in the advertisement is a K.O.L. Keef 60/2.8 and the shutter gives 1–500 pictures. The advertisement wears the name of the maker and the name of the distributor Kadunder Shōkai. Description of the production model The production model has a reversed configuration: the advance knob is on the left and the rangefinder window is on the right. There is an accessory shoe on the left of the viewfinder and the exposure counter window is at the right end of the top housing. There is a sliding button at the back of the top cover on the right, probably used to reset the exposure counter, and another button behind the advance knob, probably used to unlock film advance. The name Auto KEEF is engraved above the range- and viewfinder. The rangefinder coupling mechanism is protected under a tortuous plate but there are variations in the cover of the coupling pinion (see below). There is a screwed cover at the right of the viewfinder eyepiece, certainly used to adjust the rangefinder mechanism. The back is removable together with the bottom plate for film loading. It is locked by two flat knobs with O'' and ''L indications (for Open and Lock), and contains a single red window to set the position for the first exposure, protected by a horizontally sliding cover engraved with the serial number. See the pictures of [http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?id=76834&acat=76834&_ssl=off this Westlicht Auction catalogue, some part is missing on this particular example. Other pictures have been observed at a Japanese dealer's website, apparently showing no red window cover at all, perhaps because the whole part was missing. (These features of the back were probably already there on the prototype model.) The shutter release is mounted on a small casing attached to the shutter assembly. This casing also sports the same KEEF logo. This casing moves together with the shutter when the telescopic tube is extended and this is not a real body release, even if it was advertised as thus. Wartime documents The camera pictured in the October 1941 advertisement in is very similar to the production model. Advertisement in October 1941, reproduced in Nakamura, p.32 of no.171. It is perhaps a late prototype or an early production example: it seems that the cover of the coupling pinion supports a rotating distance scale, with an index next to it, and the shutter plate is plain silver. No actual example has been observed in that configuration. The camera is again mentioned as "available soon", and no price is given. Two versions are listed: * Auto Keef I, K.O.L. Keef 60/3.5 lens, 1–200 speeds; * Auto Keef II, K.O.L. Keef 60/2.8 lens, 1–500 speeds. The names of two distributors are mentioned: Kadunder Shōkai and Hattori Tokei-ten. A similar picture appears in an advertisement dated February 1942, where the Auto Keef I was priced at . Advertisement published in , visible in this page of Xylocopal's photolog. Advertisements dated September 1942, January and March 1943 offered the Auto Keef I for and the Auto Keef II for . September 1942 and January 1943: advertisements published in Asahi Graph, reproduced in the Gochamaze website. March 1943: advertisement published in Hōdō Shashin, reproduced in , p.65. The price was quite hefty, the Auto Keef II costing nearly as much as the Auto Semi Minolta. In the pictures, the coupling pinion cover has the KEEF logo engraved and a PAT. P. marking (for "Patents Pending") under the rangefinder window; all the examples actually observed have a similar configuration. The shutter plate is marked KOKU SAKU at the top and probably KEEF at the bottom, but it is unsure which version is illustrated. All these advertisements mention the same two distributors Kadunder and Hattori. The Auto Keef is mentioned in the April 1943 government inquiry on Japanese camera production. , item 148. This document says that the camera was made by Tōa Kokusaku Seikō and distributed by Kadunder. The lens is the three-element K.O.L. Keef 60/3.5 and the shutter is said to give T, B, 1–300 speeds. An advertisement by Sanwa Shōkai dated November–December 1944 offered the model I only, priced at with the K.O.L. Keef 60/3.5 lens and T, B, 1–200 speeds. Advertisement in November–December 1944, reproduced in Awano, p.10 of no.274. The camera was advertised at least until February 1945, a very late date. (The maker was probably a state-owned factory and it was maybe not submitted to the same restrictions as other companies.) Postwar advertisements The Auto Keef was advertised again in 1946 and 1947, reportedly with the K.O.L. Keef 60/3.5 lens and Kokusaku shutter (T, B, 1–300). , p.350. The advertisements in the January to July 1946 issues of were placed by the company Sanwa Shōkai. Advertisements in January to July 1946, reproduced in this page (there was no issue dated June). The February advertisement is also reproduced in , p.132 and in Awano, p.4 of no.275. It is very unlikely that the Auto Keef was still manufactured at that date, and Sanwa was probably selling remaining stocks. The last advertisement is reportedly dated February 1947. , p.350. Variations in actual examples Most observed examples of the Auto Keef have the K.O.L. Keef 6cm f/3.5 and a shutter giving 300–1, B, T speeds. Example pictured both in , p.14 and Lewis, p.58; example pictured in , item 3025; example pictured in this page of the AJCC; lot no.706 of Westlicht Auction no.11; example observed for sale at a Japanese dealer's website. The shutter plate is marked KOKUSAKU at the top and KEEF at the bottom. One example reportedly has a Toko 50mm f/3.5 lens by Tōkyō Kōgaku (the focal length is dubious). Charles Leski Auction no.191, lot 140. Reported body no.2961, reported lens no.52679. The shutter has T, B, 1–250 speeds and is reported as a Keef II, but the picture of the camera shows the name PATENT MARS engraved at the base of the speed rim. The Patent Mars shutter was made by the company Mars and mounted on some other Japanese cameras. , shutter item 18-U-12. Another example is reported with a Toko 60mm f/3.5 lens by Tōkyō Kōgaku and a Keef Koku-Saku shutter. Charles Leski Auction no.249, lot 21 and Auction no.270, lot 9. Reported body no.2234, reported lens no.51828. Notes Bibliography Original documents * . Advertisements by Sanwa Shōkai: ** January 1946, second cover; ** February 1946, third cover; ** March 1946, third cover; ** April 1946, third cover; ** May 1946, third cover; ** July 1946, third cover. * Item 148. * Type 1, sections 7 and 10. Recent sources * Items 56 and 470. (See also the picture on p.14.) * Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Maikuro kamera (senzenhen)" Mycro cameras (prewar compilation). In no.274 (April 2000). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.1–10. * Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Maikuro sengohen 1" Mycro postwar compilation, 1. In no.275 (May 2000). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.1–7. * P.40. * Pp.57–8. * Nakamura Kin (中村欽). "Hanseiki-mae no kugatsu ni ha..." (半世紀前の九月には..., Half a century ago...). In no.171 (September 1991). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. P.32. * Item 3025. Links In English: * Auto Keef, lot no.706 of auction no.11 (26 May 2007) by Westlicht Photographica Auction * Catalogues at Charles Leski Auctions: ** Auction no.191 (lot 140, with picture) ** Auction no.249 (lot 21) ** Auction no.270 (lot 9) In Japanese: * Auto Keef in a page of the AJCC website * Auto Keef in the Camera database of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology * Prewar Japanese cameras using 127 film at Nekosan's website, the Auto Keef is in the middle of the picture * Advertisement for the Auto Keef published in Asahi Camera February 1942, visible in this page about old camera magazines of Xylocopal's photolog * Advertisements for the Auto Keef published in the 23 September 1942 and 27 January 1943 issues of Asahi Graph, reproduced in the Japanese camera page and the small format camera page of the Gochamaze website Category: Japanese 4x4 rangefinder Category: A Keef